FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional fuel supplying apparatus for a vehicle disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Examined Publication No. 37178/1989. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a main tank for storing fuel 2, 1a denotes a bottom wall of the main tank 1, and 1b denotes a bottom wall opening provided in the bottom wall 1a of the main tank 1. Numeral 3 denotes a setting plate which is oil-tightly attached to the bottom wall opening 1b by means of bolts 15 through packing 4.
A sub-tank 5 which is inserted in the main tank 1 is provided on an inner surface 3a of the setting plate 3, and an in-tank type fuel pump 7 which is attached by a pump holder 6 is provided on an inner bottom surface 5a of the sub-tank 5. FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a suction filter portion of the fuel supplying apparatus for a vehicle shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 8, numeral 8a denotes an opening portion connected to an inlet port 7a (located inside the fuel pump 7 in FIG. 7 and is invisible) of the fuel pump 7, 8b denotes a screen portion for filtering the passing fuel 2, and 8c denotes a protector for preventing the rubbing against each other of the screen portion 8b and the inner bottom surface 5a of the sub-tank 5.
The sub-tank 5 is attached to prevent the fuel 2 from not being supplied to an unillustrated engine from the fuel pump 7 when the vehicle body is inclined in a state in which the amount of fuel 2 in the main tank 1 has become small. A discharge port 7b of the fuel pump 7 is connected to a main tube 10 by means of a rubber hose 9. The main tube 10 is bent downward, is oil-tightly passed through the setting plate 3, and is connected by a joint 14 to a delivery pipe 16 directed to the unillustrated engine. Further, a power supply line 11 having one end connected to a connector 12 outside the main tank 1 has its other end oil-tightly passed through the setting plate 3 and connected to a power supply terminal 13 of the fuel pump 7.
Next, a description will be given of the supply of the fuel 2. A voltage is applied from the power supply terminal 13 through the connector 12 and the power supply line 11 to drive the fuel pump 7, which in turn causes the fuel 2 in the main tank 1 to be sucked from the suction filter 8, and after the fuel 2 is pressurized by the fuel pump 7, the fuel 2 passes through the main tube 10 and is supplied to the delivery pipe 16 directed to the unillustrated engine.
However, with the above-described conventional fuel supplying apparatus for a vehicle, since the sub-tank 5 is cup-shaped with its upper surface 5b open, during quick braking when the acceleration acting in the vehicle becomes maximum the fuel inside the sub-tank 5 rides over the upper surface 5b of the sub-tank 5 and flows to outside the sub-tank 5. For this reason, there has been a problem in that when the amount of fuel 2 in the main tank 1 has become small, the fuel 2 fails to be supplied to the unillustrated engine by the fuel pump 7.
The present invention has been devised to overcome the above-describe problem, and its object is to obtain a fuel supplying apparatus for a vehicle which is capable of supplying fuel to the engine even when the vehicle is braked quickly.